Man with crossbow in armed siege…

Crossbow man in armed siege in Greater Manchester

Police said the man made threats towards them with the crossbow at an address in Gorse Hill

A man with a crossbow is at the centre of an armed siege in Greater Manchester, police said.

Officers and social workers were called to an address on North Lonsdale Street, Gorse Hill, at 20:30 GMT on Thursday.

Police said the 31-year-old made threats towards them with the weapon. A police cordon has been put in place.

Negotiators were at the scene trying to “bring a safe end to the incident”, police said. It is not believed anyone is being held hostage.

Supt Simon Retford said: “We do not believe that anyone in the address is there under duress, but our priority at the moment is to ensure that we reach a peaceful conclusion to this incident, and that this man gets the appropriate support he needs from our partner agencies.

“I would reassure the local community not to be overly alarmed by what is happening as highly trained officers are currently dealing with this incident.”

He added: “Officers have been on the ground to offer reassurance to local people.”